Lexus Decides To Give Up On The HS Hybrid

Hybrids are way expensive for what they offer. I just don't understand why people buy them honestly. Don't they understand they're spending MORE money on them than a regular car??

And a V8 costs more than a V6. And leather costs more than cloth. And a convertible costs more than a hardtop. What's your point? You're not willing to pay more for an added feature? Don't buy it. Roughly 4% of buyers are buying it each month now, outpacing growth in the rest of the market. Your purchase isn't needed.

designer: the buyers of hybrid reap much self-righteous joy from driving one. that's what they're paying for even though buying an american-made economy car would have a smaller carbon footprint.

thetruth: please tell us, exactly, the benefits of say a civic hybrid over a gasoline civic. facts please.

You want facts, read this: http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2012/05/epa-launches-hybrid-comparison-tool.html

that was exciting. so it takes 4.5 years for a hyundai sonata hybrid to break even versus a regular sonata. i get a new car every three years or less so i'd never even break even.

So don't buy one. Fact is, with a lot of driving, esp city driving, hybrids, (even the Civic) make sense. And you asked for facts, not opinions.

Except that over 4 or 5 years, usually they are not depending on how much they drive (more driving = greater ROI). Also that's not factoring in less time at the pump. Even factoring in battery replacement costs there is a cost savings over time on most of the true hybrids (talking Priuses, not LS600h's).

Less time at the pump, but more time at the dealership.

Why is it so hard to understand that for many people driving expensive cars it is not about the money, it is about something else?

The New ES300h is the replacement.....

So let say an Es300h (hybrid) costs $4k more than the Es350 at purchase. Lets assume they are identically equipped. instead of getting 19mpg in the city the ES300h get 38mpg in the city and the driver averages 15k miles a year in city driving and doesn't go on the highway much. after 4 years if gas is around $4 a gallon the hybrid owner would have saved $6313 in fuel savings alone. Now lets say both owners trade these vehicles in with exactly the same miles (60k) in the exact same condition. Based on my experiences selling Lexus vehicles at a Lexus dealer in Houston, you can expect that the hybrid will bring a premium of at least $2500 over the non hybrid second hand. This scenario which would apply to a vast majority of drivers and is very conservative would net the hybrid buyer close to $5k after factoring the initial cost difference. If gas were to go up or the hybrid owner kept this vehicle longer or drove more miles then the cost benefit would be greater still. How does this not make sense?

People seem to forget to calculate premium they can expect to get for their vehicle when they sell it when they are figuring their Roi.

Stop using logic on this site. It's not allowed.

I'll add another possibility to your scenario. What if the ES300h comes in at near or exactly the same price as the V6? This is what Lincoln has done with its MKZ V6 and hybrid, (one of Ford's few wise moves with this brand). It's likely to happen, because the hybrid Camrys are less expensive than the V6s.

People have for too long been comparing cost of hybrids to lesser models. The MKZ is the perfect example of comparing it to higher models. The cost benefit seems pretty phenomenal when you look at it that way.

nice try. but math is way off. hybrids don't get double the mileage as you suggest. every magazine that's done the math has shown the hybrids take many years to pay back their price premium in gas savings. and some, like the LS600h never do.

What if it's only 1500 more???

The LS600hL was never meant to be a money saver. It was meant to showcase the pinnacle of all that Lexus had, from hybrid, to largest engine, to all wheel drive, to extended wheelbase, to every luxury amenity. And as such, it was the best Lexus. I do believe it could have been better, either faster or more efficient. And I believe the next version will be much better. Lexus has gone all in with hybrids. Some work exceptionally- CT, current RX, current GS; some fairly well- previous GS, previous RX, current LS; and some not at all- HS. Not every BMW is a gift from god either.

Also keep in mind Lexus warranties their batteries for 8yrs or 100k miles and since the hybrid drive system which charges the batteries is what slows the vehicles down when you apply the brakes you can expect the original brake pads to last over 100k miles (more savings still).

The market has spoken. Plain and simple no matter how you try to spin it.

I could have seen this selling better in Europe! Don't think it was ever sold there. But none the less this looks like a fancy corolla and drives worse than one! Nothing about the HS is luxury, but then again it is a lexus so can't expect too much.

So if what some say is right, that many people don't understand that a hybrid's cost effectiveness is long-term, then it means Toyota's marketing department is failing and doing a horrendous job. It is their job to make either customers aware, or make the customers need it.

This car was doomed from the beginning. It brought nothing new to the table and its hideous. How can Toyota bring a car like this out and still expect to pursue their sporty image for the brand...

I don't see this as a failure of anything except the car itself. It wasn't that great to begin with, but could have been better with a dash more style and the revised 2.5L hybrid engine. Lexus just didn't care about it, as they focused on the far superior CT200h and the upcoming ES300h. Hybrids have not failed for Lexus. The CT and thr RXh are great successes, helping the brand carve out a niche that is even starting to work for them in Europe. If they expand the CY range and really push the ESh, they could be setting themselves up for some serious growth in the next couple years, thanks chielfy to hybrids.

The GS hybrid is leaps and bounds better than its predecessor. I can't wait to see how the next LS hybrid will perform.

it was an ugly car that cost $15,000 more than a prius and got 15mpg LESS than a prius. only brand whore morons bought this car over a prius.

Prius is much less refined. For people like you who don't know what that means, it has less NVH.

so NVH is worth $15,000 and 15mpg less? sadly, nobody agreed with you and it's a discontinued model.

The styling was the only killer...driving dynamics were good....